Prelude to Eden

At the time I started this project, I’d been working for Don Bluth for over 4 years. Although being there was a tremendous learning experience, I wasn’t that thrilled with the kind of animation I was doing. The Bluth style is fine, but what I really wanted to do was my style, or at least find out what the Gagné style was. “Prelude to Eden” was the film that helped me find my own sense of storytelling, timing, motion and design. It was total artistic self-exploration. The film took around 4 ½ years to complete from the moment of conception, in 1991, to the delivery of the final 35mm print. “Eden” was nominated for an Annie Award for best animated short Subject in 1996. —Michel Gagne